Luckily, we are almost in the clear when it comes to snow in the forecast. With warmer weather comes the spring thaw we have all been patiently awaiting. However, with that spring thaw can also come some problems if you are not prepared. As the ground begins to warm up and snow begins to melt away, your home or business may suffer from some water seepage. Take some of the following steps to prevent it from happening to you:
- Remove any remaining snow to a location out of the way. If you can shovel it to a lower lying area that will not seep back into your basement or crawl space, it would be ideal.
- Clear out your gutters. Over the winter, your gutters may have accumulated a lot of debris like leaves, twigs, and even nesting animals. Make sure water can properly drain off the top of your house.
- Be sure there are no clogs in the drainpipes. Again, you want to make sure water will flow down the pipes and away from the house. If it just pours over the side of the roof, it will drain straight down in the ground which could cause water damage.
- Walk through your basement to make sure all your windows or vents are closed. You probably closed them before winter started, but it never hurts to check them again to be sure.
- Contact your insurance carrier to find out if you have the coverage you would need if anything were to become damaged from water seepage. Please note: standard homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover water seepage damage. In most cases, a flood insurance policy would be needed.
- If you do find any drainage problems, you might want to think about planting some shrubs to wick away extra moisture or having your land re-graded to help with water flow issues.
Call us at 717-866-5717 for more information on how to prevent water seepage problems this spring.
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